


Slumber

by blackcoffeeandteardrops



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29546250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcoffeeandteardrops/pseuds/blackcoffeeandteardrops
Summary: Set several years post-Endgame. In which Tony and Pepper have a quiet evening at home.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	Slumber

_The air tastes like blood and ash, the smoke thick enough to be cut with a knife, as Pepper kneels down in her armor, desperately trying not to say goodbye to the love of her life._

_A part of her doesn't want to remember him this way, body eaten up with radiation from the infinity stones, half of his face burned nearly to the point of being unrecognizable. She watches his eyes as the light behind them grows dimmer, counts the seconds as his breath grows increasingly shallow, and she tells him he can rest._

_She kisses his face, torn between wanting to leave as soon as possible and never wanting it to end. Last words, last smiles, last kiss goodbye._

_A memory from long ago rudely breaks in, one of her telling him she wasn't going to be there to watch him kill himself. It knocks the wind from her lungs. Behind her she feels someone reaching for her arm, telling her they need to move his body. She knows they're right, but she doesn't want to stop looking at him, no matter how painful seeing him like this is._

_As they pull her away, she thinks again of the words said by her so long ago. She'd have been a fool to think this would have ended any differently._

Three things happen almost simultaneously. First, Pepper jolts upright in bed. Second, Tony wraps an arm--his real one, not the one that looks strikingly similar thanks to Wakandan tech--around her shoulders. And third, he shouts out a command to run a full vital scan, though he already suspects he knows what's wrong.

He waits until her breathing slows to normal to try and approach the subject. Casually, sleepily, he leans in and rests his chin against her shoulder. "S'matter, Pep?"

She shakes her head, blinking back hot tears. "I'm--"

"You don't have to be fine with me. You get that, right? I'm the king of not fine. Probably have a certificate from you somewhere to prove it," he says, planting a kiss where his chin had just rested. "Which one was it this time?"

Pepper draws in a shaky breath, counts to five before letting it out, choosing to stare ahead at a spot on the wall rather than at him. "I almost lost you. I...I did. Or I thought I did. I still don't know who it was that led me away so I didn't have to watch as they carried away your body."

At that, Tony draws her closer, desperate to reassure her, no matter how painful reliving the aftermath of the final battle with Thanos might be. It had taken months of recovery and rest, and training his artificial arm, in a hospital in Wakanda. There were days on end where he wasn't even sure he wanted to live, considering how much pain he was in. There were moments when he didn't think he'd make it. He knows all of this, is eternally in debt for everything they did to help him recover, but his heart still hurts knowing that he wasn't the only one dealing with pain. "Look at me."

Pepper straightens her spine, squaring her shoulders in preparation for whatever he's about to say, although she's sure she has the gist of it already memorized. It's not until Tony hooks his finger under her chin, urging her once more to look at him, that she finally obliges. "You were the one who nearly died. Again. I should be the one consoling you. I know it's been nearly two years at this point, but--"

"But you're my wife. Worrying about me is an unfortunate side effect to falling in love with me, what can I say?" Tony says, shrugging his shoulders as best he can. The months upon months of physical therapy have helped him, but there are moments when normal range of motion doesn't feel quite the same as it used to. He smiles, relieved to hear her laugh softly at his joke.

"We nearly lost you," Pepper repeats herself, shaking her head as if doing so will help keep the scary thoughts at bay. She's been doing better--tonight's nightmare is the first she's had in almost two months--but she doesn't know if the reality of how close he came to death will ever stop occurring to her. She turns toward him again, resting a palm against his face. She slowly traces her thumb across the scars that are far lighter than they had been but unlikely to ever go completely away. Pulling him in close, she kisses him before wrapping both arms around him, suddenly desperate to feel the physical proof he's there.

"I'm here, honey," he says, as if he can read her thoughts. "And hey, I'm retired for real this time, so I'm not going anywhere. Seriously. In fact, you'll probably get sick of me."

"Who said I wasn't already?" Pepper asks, raising an eyebrow. At his mock scoff, she shakes her head, smiling softly. She watches him swallow slowly & she reaches out, lightly raking her fingers through his goatee.

His eyes scan her face, wishing not for the first time that he wasn't the reason for the worry he sees there. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"I do," Pepper responds, arching her back, stretching languidly as she wraps one leg around his waist. Casually, she leans in and kisses him once more.

“I have a little something to prove it to you,” Tony replies, slipping his hand under her shirt and pressing his palm to the small of her back..

“Little?” Pepper asks, a smirk ghosting across her lips. But before she can say more, Tony’s over and in and around her, so much so that she forgets the panic she’d felt moments before.

After, as they’re tangled up in the sheets with Pepper’s head pressed firmly against his chest, Tony rests one arm around her and listens. It’s quiet, a perk of what drew them to this property in the first place, but he’s not sure he’ll ever get fully used to not having to keep an eye out for every slight hint of danger on the horizon. The time may come where dark forces will wreak havoc once more, but he can’t bring himself to think about it, partially because they’re all still recovering but also because he knows it’s not his battle to fight any longer.

“We should get some sleep,” Pepper murmurs, stifling a yawn. “Her majesty will be up soon, and as I recall, you’re the one who suggested we make chocolate chip pancakes.”

Tony laughs, craning his neck to see the slightest hint of daylight begin to leak in through the blinds. It’s still early yet, so he hopes they have the time. “That was me, wasn’t it? But how am I supposed to say no when she juts out her lip like that? I’m hopelessly weak when it comes to both loves of my life.”

“Is that right?” Pepper replies. He kisses the top of her head in response, and then the room falls quiet once more. She’s lulled into contentment by the steady rise and fall of his chest, yet another reminder that he’s alive and whole and hers. For a moment she considers saying something else, something to mark the moment, but by the way he’s still and calm beside her she knows without looking that he’s fallen asleep. Content, she pulls the blanket over them both and does the same thing. This night’s nightmares likely won’t be her last--the scars earned in recent years would be enough to give anyone psychological wounds--but for now she, Tony, and Morgan are safe and sound under one roof, and that’s all she could ever want.


End file.
